Underwater core barrel



y '2, 1953 c; c. ISBELL 2,638,321

' UNDERWATER co E BARREL Filed Oct. 7, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M Writ 70A.

' Gamma. 15541.

Arum 5).

Patented May 12, 1953 lTED STATES PATNT 6 Claims; (01. 255--1.4')

This invention relates to a core barrel, and

particularly one which is used for under water exploration, particularly in coastal areas adjacent to the sea or lake, and where it"is' desirable to obtain core samples of thesea or lake floor.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel under water core barrel whichcan be quickly and easily lowered to the ocean or lake floor and thereafter a punch coremay be obtained'by driving the core barrel into the formation on the bottom of thesea or'lake;

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel underwater core barrel which can be raised or'lowered by means of a cable from a barge and once lowered to engage theb'ottom of thesea or lake; thereafter the core barrel, upon being re"- leased, will obtain a core sample andrecord the direction and drift automatically, whereupon the core barrel" is returnedto the'surface.

A feature of my invention is to providea novel under water core barrel, which may either be directed to its position by a diver, or which may be lowered into very deep water and be selfcontained so that the diver is not required.

Still another feature of my invention is to provide a novel under water core barrel'in which the core cutter is driven into the formation by-an explosive charge and by the force of a jetting stream of water which impinges upon the. core cutter. X

Other objects, advantages and'features oi'invention may appear from" the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l. is side elevation of my core barrel with parts broken away to show interior construction.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the core. cutter including the camera case, and with parts broken away to' show interior construction. I

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the gun section orpowder chamber and with parts broken away to show interior construction.

\ Figure 4 is a longitudinalsectional'view of the lower portion ofthe coring device.

' Figure 5 is a longitudinal fragmentary sect'onal view of the chuck which holds the detonator.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the core barrel case, showing one method of tripping the releasing latch. x

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 and showing another method of tripping the releasing latch.

upper part of the barrel l'.

Figure 815 a longitudinal sectional view of a microphone which is mounted on the core barrel; Figure 9' is a side elevation of a modified form of core barrel which includes a self-contained pump.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a drift indicator which might be I used with my apparatus.

Referring more particullarly to the drawing, the numeral l indicates a core barrel, which consists of a long section of pipe or tubing l and a lower end, to which a jet nozzle 2 may be attached. The purpose of the jet nozzle is to jet the core barrel through light or loose formation which may be found on the ocean or lake floor. A suitable cable 3 is attached to the upper end of the core barrel I. and this cableextends to a suitable barge or boat from which my core barrel is operated. A cameracase and core cutter 4 is positioned within the barrel 1 and initially is held suspended in the upperpart of the barrel, as shown in Figure 1 and by a means which will be subsequently described.

In the formation of my invention shown in Figure 1, an elbow 5 extends into the barrel l and a pipe 6 is connectedto the elbow and extends to the surface where a suitable pump, not shown. forces water downwardly through the pipe and thence-into'the barrel I for the purpose of causing a jet of water through the nozzle 2, thereby forcing the barrel I through the light or loose formation on the bottom of the sea orlake.

The camera case and core cutter ll includes a camera cylinder 1, an explosive chamber 8, which is mounted below the camera cylinder 1, and a core cutter 9, which is mounted below the explosive chamber 8. The parts i, 8 and a are all longitudinally' aligned and the detailed parts. thereof areshown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. An annular ring [0' is provided on the camera cylinder 7 and this ring is engaged by a latch H, which is pivotally mounted on the barrel 2. The latch may consist of a disc which has a finger i2 to engage the ring It, shown in Figure l, and thus hold the entire core cutter and camera assembly suspended in the When the parts are suspended, as shown in Figure l, the latch I I not only engages the ring Ill but also presses the core cutter and camera against the wall or the barrel i. The latch H is normally held in engaging position by a pin 63, which holds the latch H against rotation. This pin can be removed either by a wire or line M or by an electrical solenoid 15. When the latch H is released the weight of the core. cutter and camera assembly .will cause it to from the jet nozzle 2. At this time the core cutter 9 is ready to be forced downwardly into the formation to take a punch core. This is accomplished in the following manner:

A drift indicator or camera It includes the usual reticle and the calibrated disc l8, which is photographed, all of this being usual and well known and is shown in such patents as No. 2,144,422, January 17, 1939, and No. 2,203,176, June 4, 1940, and others. The camera, which is commonly called a single shot, is slidable longitudinally in the camera housing I, this longitudinal movement of the camera assembly consisting of several inches, the purpose of which will be further described. A spring pressed ball l9 projects from the wall of the camera It and this ball drops into the annular recess 20 in the lower-most position of the camera, and when the ball drops into this recess the timing mechanism 2! of the camera is released and starts to function, this timing mechanism of the camera is again usual and well known in this art. A button 22 is provided on the bottom of the camera assembly. The explosion chamber 5, which is posi tioned immediately below the camera assembly I consists of a switch 23, at the upper end, which is engaged by the button 22 when the camera assembly drops downwardly. Two leads 24 and 25 extend from the switch 23, the lead 24 being connected to the battery 25 and the lead 25 is grounded. The battery 26 is attached to a detonator 21, and this detonator is positioned with a powder chamber 28 which is also the threaded coupling between the explosive chamber and the core cutter 9. The piston 29 is pressed upwardly by the coil spring 33 and this spring supports the switch 23, as well as the camera case I in the raised position. In other words, the camera case is pushed upwardly at all times by the spring 30. The spring 30 is compressed only on impact of the core cutter 9 with the formation, and also the switch 23 will only be closed at the time of impact.

The chamber 28 is filled with gun powder and is exploded by the detonator 21 by energy supplied from the battery 26. When the gun powder is exploded in the chamber 23, it will force the piston 3| downwardly in the core cutter housing 9. A pitman 32 extends from the piston 3| to a head 33. The head 33 is held against the bottom of the core cutter 9 by a plurality of spring fingers 34, these spring fingers will readily release when force is exerted on the head 33. A plurality of ports 35 in the wall of the cutter 9 permits water to escape as the piston 3| is driven downwardly. The piston 3| and the head 33 are held against rotation relative to the part 9 by a set screw 36, which extends into the longitudinal groove 3?. The coring cylinder 33 extends downwardly from the head 33 and this cylinder receives the core when the cylinder is driven into the formation. Ports 38 in the head 33 permit fluid to escape above the core, the core ejecting any fluid past the spring pressed valve 40.

Since the detonator 21 must be replaced after each use, a chuck 4| is provided to receive the detonator, this chuck being usual and well known in construction. The core barrel thus far described is applicable to relatively shallow waters and where the diver can accompany the barrel and direct its movement.

In Figure 9 I have shown a core barrel which is applicable to greater depths and in which the outer core barrel 42 is similar in construction to the barrel l. The barrel 42 contains the camera or drift indicator and the core cutter, the same as previously described. An electrically driven pump 43 is mounted on the upper end of the barrel 42 and the discharge of this pump is the pipe 44 which directs a jetting flow of water into the barrel 42 and below the upper or suspended position of the core cutter and camera.

In order that the attendant may listen to the explosion in the chamber 28 as well as other actions in the core barrel, I may provide a microphone 45, which is mounted in a case 46, attached to the barrel 42 or I, if it is found to be desirable. The leads from the microphone extend outwardly or upwardly either to the surface or to the accompanying diver.

Instead of the single shot survey instrument or camera previously described, I may employ a drift indicator 4?, and this drift indicator is positioned in the same place as the camera I and indicates the drift of the core barrel as well as direction. The construction of the drift indicator is usual and well known in the art and the details of this drift indicator form no part of this invention.

Operation The core barrel l is first lowered to the bottom and then a jet of water either through the pipe 3 or from the pump 43 is forced out through the jet nozzle 2, thus jetting the barrel I or 42 downwardly through light or loose formation. The latch H is now released and the entire core cutter and camera assembly is dropped downwardly and the core cutter 38 strikes the formation and protrudes from the nozzle 2, this impact, in turn, causing the entire camera assembly to move downwardly against the tension of the spring 3!]. At the same time the switch 23 is closed, this operates the detonator 27, fires the gun powder in the chamber 28 and drives the piston 31 downwardly. The piston 31 in its downward movement also drives the head 33 of the core cutter 38 downwardly causing the core cutter to punch into the formation and recover a core. When the spring pressed ball l9 drops into the chamber 20, the mechanism of the camera it will start to function and the proper picture is taken and the direction indi cated as set by the operator.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An under water core barrel comprising an outer tubing, a core cutter unit suspended in said tubing, said core cutter unit comprising a camera cylinder, an explosion chamber and a core cutter arrangedin superimposed position, latch means mounted on the tubing and engaging the core cutter unit, and means to disengage the latch means to permit the core cutter unit to drop downwardly in the tubing and sample the formation, a jet nozzle on the bottom of the tubing and a water jet pipe extending into said tubing.

2. An under water core barrel comprising an outer tubing, a core cutter unit suspended in said tubing, said core cutter unit comprising a camera cylinder, an explosion chamber and a core cutter arranged in superimposed position, latch means mounted on the tubing and engaging the core cutter unit, and means to disengage the latch means to permit the core cutter unit to drop downwardly in the tubing and sample the formation, a jet nozzleon the bottom of the tubing, and a water jet pipe extending into said tubing, and means to detonate an explosive charge in said explosion chamber to drive said core cutter into the formation.

3. An under water core barrel comprising an outer tubing, a core cutter unit comprising a camera cylinder, an explosion chamber, and a core cutter, said cylinder, chamber, and cutter being superimposed, latch means mounted on the tubing and engaging the core cutter unit to hold said unit suspended in the tubing, manual means to release said latch and permit the core cutter unit to drop downwardly in the tubing, a detonator in the explosion chamber, an electrical switch connected to said detonator, said camera cylinder being movable downwardly to engage and close the switch and detonate said detonator.

4. An under water core barrel comprising an outer tubing, a core cutter unit comprising a camera cylinder, an explosion chamber, and a core cutter, said cylinder, chamber and cutter being superimposed, latch means mounted on the tubing and engaging the core cutter unit to hold said unit suspended in the tubing, manual means to release said latch and permit the core cutter unit to drop downwardly in the tubing, a detonator in the explosion chamber, an electrical switch connected to said detonator, said camera cylinder being movable downwardly to engage and close the switch and detonate said detonator, a jet nozzle on the bottom of the tubing and a water jet pipe extending into said tubing.

5. An under water core barrel comprising an outer tubing, suspension means on the upper end of said tubing, a core cutter suspended in the tubing, a coring cylinder on the lower end of said core cutter, a latch mounted on the tubing and engaging the core cutter, latch releasing means engaging said latch to permit release of the core cutter and allowing the core cutter and coring cylinder to fall within the tubing, explosive means in the core cutter to project the core cutter from the barrel to sample the formation, said core cylinder projecting from the bottom of the tubing in formation sampling position, the balance of the core cutter remaining within the tubing, and means actuated by the core cylinder upon impact with the formation to detonate the explosive means.

6. An under water core barrel comprising an outer elongated tubing, a core cutter unit suspended in said tubing, said core cutter unit com-- prising a camera cylinder, an explosion chamber and a core cutter arranged in superimposed position, said core cutter unit having a limited longitudinal movement in the tubing, the lower position of said unit being with the core cutter proj ecting from the bottom of the tubing, stop means engaged by the core cutter unit to limit the amount of projection from the tubing, latch means on the tubing engaging the core cutter unit, means to disengage the latch means to permit the core cutter unit to drop downwardly in the tube and sample the formation, an explosive means in the core cutter, and detonator means operable on impact of the core cutter with formation to explode the explosive means.

CHARLES C. IS-BELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,891,628 Nichols Dec. 20, 1932 2,170,716 Higgins Aug. 22, 1939 2,17 6,477 Varney et al Oct. 17, 1939 2,227,198 Piggot Dec. 31, 1940 2,303,727 Douglas Dec. 1, 1942 2,345,816 Hays Apr. 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 622,159 Germany Nov. 21. 1935 

